The Untold Story of a Boy With a Dream
by Zukuto
Summary: Ever wanted to know how all those other trainers got involved in the world of Pokémon? The ones who weren't given starters by the famous Professors? Well step up and follow the adventures of Caleb and discovered how he sets out on his own Pokémon journey in the most unlikely way! **This story is set in Johto and will feature trainers and Pokémon from all the regions. Please enjoy!
1. Chapter 1

**Hello!**

Here you will find a story which I have had banging around in my head for quite some time. It's been bothering me so much I can't focus on any other pieces I'm trying to write!

This story follows the adventures of a young man named Caleb who is from Cherrygrove City in Johto. He's 17 and doesn't have his own Pokémon... yet!

This story came to mind whilst I was playing Pokémon X and was wondering what it must be like for all those trainers out there who don't get their first Pokémon from one of the professors. Surely it can't be an easy task? Are some given as gifts? Do some trainers go out armed with pokéballs and a stick and just have at it?

So, this is where this story has come from! Some characters are my own creatures, everything else well that all belongs to Nintendo now doesn't it?

I hope you will enjoy my story and if you like, please leave me a review!

* * *

With the wind twisting it's way through the tall blades of grass, Caleb watched from his hiding place amongst the trees as he waited for his prize to appear. It had been a long day and sun was not being kind to him.

_Come on! Where are you?!_

Pulling at his shirt he tried to let the air in to cool his body, beads of sweat causing his black hair to stick to his forehead. Narrowing his eyes he stared out into the grass, he'd been waiting all day and he did not want today to be another wasted day.

_Please, why aren't you showing up?  
_  
Sighing deeply Caleb realised that today, like all the others, had been a complete waste of time. It wasn't like Caleb was looking for some super rare pokémon, no he was just looking for one particular pokémon! He'd first seen this pokémon as a kid; he'd been out hunting Rattata on one of the routes outside their home town of Cherrygrove City when his father pointed out the small green and white pokémon. It was so small and so well concealed that Caleb almost missed it. It's voice was soft and quiet as it rummage through the tall grass looking for fallen berries. Caleb's father in a soft voice explained to Caleb what it was. A Raltz. As he ruffled Caleb's hair and explained that a Raltz only appears before happy people Caleb could feel the happiness inside himself swell. He always knew his father was a good man and this mysterious little pokémon appearing before them simply confirmed it in the young boy's eyes.

Thinking back on one of the few memories of his dad Caleb sighed sadly, thinking of his father never ended well so it was easier not to. Returning to his watch he kept a steady eye out for the illusive pokémon.  
Did it not appearing mean that he wasn't a good kid any more? He'd tried hard over his seventeen years of his life damn it! He'd stuck by his mother after his father disappeared, he gave up his dream of going off on an adventure in order to help her, he didn't even have a single pokémon like most teenagers his age! Heck, kids younger than him had pokémon and yet he gave all that up.  
Letting out an annoyed sigh Caleb gave up with his vigil for another day and climbed down from his hiding place.  
Perhaps he'd never find that little pokémon. Perhaps it was long gone?  
Just like dad...


	2. Chapter 2

As he reached the outskirts of the town Caleb was too lost in his day dreams to notice that something wasn't quite right. Cherrygrove City was a tiny place. In all of Johto it was probably the second smallest town but until Caleb visited New Bark Town he was convinced there was absolutely no way in hell there was anywhere smaller than here. What was normally a small and sleepy little town was now alive with noise, voices and what appeared to be _a lot_ of pokémon! Caleb stopped and stared as he became aware of the scene in front of him. Why the hell were there so many people in his tiny town?! Gingerly making his way towards the biggest group of cheering people near him, Caleb peered into the centre of the crowd to see what the hubbub was about. There in the middle of the circle of people was a pokémon battle! A battle! In his town! Caleb was gob smacked! Quickly taking a look around, Caleb saw similar happenings all over. These people were clearly all pokémon trainers of some sort of the other. Turning his attention back to the battle happening in front of him, Caleb watched the two animals go at it. He was enthralled with every movement they made and watched as the pokémons' trainers cheered them on from the sidelines. Feeling a twinge in the pit of his stomach, a twinge of all too familiar jealousy, Caleb turned his attention back to the two creatures. They were stunning. On one side was a large, purplish cloud of smoke swirling in and out of vision. Every so often Caleb caught a glimpse of ghostly claws, sharp teeth and red demonic eyes. A shiver ran down his spine as he watched the purple mist dart forward and swirl around the opposing pokémon.

_A Haunter!_

Caleb's brain was going crazy trying to remember all the information he'd ever read about a Haunter.

_Stalks it's victims. Tongue is made of gas. A single touch from one of it's ghostly hands causes hours of involuntary shuddering._

Tearing his gaze from the ghostly creature Caleb turned his attention to it's trainer. To Caleb's surprise it's trainer was one of the prettiest girl's he'd ever seen. She looked to be a little smaller than he was, her big amber eyes were shining with ambition as she cheered her pokémon on. He watched as she jumped up and down, yelling encouragement at her pokémon, her arms waving up and down in the air. He couldn't help but laugh. Her tanned skin was practically glowing and her smile reached right to her eyes. She was the total opposite to what he expected a Ghost user to look like.

"Come on Manny! Show them what you can do!" He heard her cry out.

_Manny?! That's the name of her Haunter?! That's not what I'd expect it to be called..._

Shaking his head he turned his attention back to the battle in front of him. He was certain the Ghost pokémon had grown in size but he couldn't be certain. Glancing at the opposing pokémon he took in it's defensive strategy. It was a very small yellow little pokémon which was moving at an incredible speed in an attempt to avoid the Ghostly pokémon's strikes. Every time the small little creature stopped moving Caleb managed to get a look at it. It seemed to be constantly moving, bouncing up and down on it's little feet, it's blue tipped ears twitching with small sparks of electricity flitting between them. It's cheeks were tinged blue as well with a minus symbol on each cheek. Caleb had read about this pokémon as well but was surprised to see it being used in a battle. It was a Minun, a small electric type rodent that tended to either be used in team battles with it's counter part Plusle or in use in medical facilitates to help with muscle relaxation and the like. This little Minun was obviously no stranger to a battle as it dodged each of the Ghost's attacks. Caleb was impressed! Minun's were not known for being particularly strong or speedy and yet this little rodent was something else. Every time Haunter closed in with what could be a particularly nasty Sucker Punch little Minun managed to dodge and let off a Spark which caused the Ghost to flinch slightly. Minun's trainer wasn't quite as enthusiastic as what Haunter's was but Caleb watched as the tall, tanned and blonde haired man that was Minun's trainer stood with his arms folded, a smile on his face and the occasional nod each time Minun looked up at him, as if the two were silently communicating. The battle didn't last much longer and to everyone's surprise the little Minun came out victorious. As the crowd started to disperse Caleb watched as the two trainers congratulated each other and joked about each other's performance.

_I wonder if all pokémon battles are like this? _

Tearing his eyes away from the two Caleb made his way towards the pokémon centre near the other edge of the town. Glancing at his watch he swore as he realised he only had 10 minutes before his shift started.

It was a long day after that. Caleb had been working at the Pokémon centre for the last two years. As soon as he'd turned fifteen and was old enough to work he'd badgered the head nurse every day until finally, with a small smile on her face, she agreed to let him work on a temporary base to see if he could cope with the work. She'd expected him to give up after a week, newbies of his age always found the work far too difficult and not as glamorous as they'd though, but Caleb had surprised her. Sure he could get tired out like everyone else but in the two years she'd had him working in the care room, cleaning out the habitats of their sicker patients, he appeared to always give her one hundred percent. Today was no different. Nurse Emily was manning the counter, the influx of trainers had kept them busier than normal and she expected her young apprentice to really crack under the pressure of being so busy, he'd never had to work in anything like this, but as usual Caleb kept his cool and worked through the storm. By the time their shift had ended and the next lot of nurses appeared to take over, Emily made her way through the back to let Caleb know he was free to go home. As she made her way through the Intensive Care Unit she found Caleb sitting in front of a small incubator that held a very tiny pokémon inside. Emily frowned, she remembered the Pokémon coming in this afternoon, the trainer had been hysterical as she cradled the tiny pokémon. Apparently the trainer and pokémon had been ambushed and the little creature had tried to fight off their attackers but had been unsuccessful. Terrified, the trainer grabbed her pokémon and ran for the town. Emily shuddered as she thought back on the girl's face, tear stained and terrified.

_The centre was mobbed, Emily was getting more and more stressed out with each trainer who appeared at her desk. The paper work was mounting up and Emily just knew she was not going to be getting a break any time soon. Dealing with the everyday trainers she seen on a regular basis was one thing but this sudden influx of new faces was a nightmare! She'd transferred here in order to have a quiet life, she had wanted away from the busy city life. Emily felt like she was right back in Goldenrod! A noise at the entrance of the Centre pulled Emily from her thoughts and looking up she saw someone pushing their way to the front of the queue. Emily frowned, she'd had enough of people trying to tell her that their pokémon should be seen before everyone else's. Watching the small person make their way to her desk she seen why they'd been successful in reaching the front of her desk without a fuss from the other patrons. In front of her stood a very small, very battered and beaten looking girl. Her long brunette hair was tangled and twisted, she looked like she'd been pulled through a hedge, and there was evidence of a black eye forming around one of her soft blue eyes. There were obvious tear marks streaking her dirt stained face as the girl looked up at Emily. There was no way this girl was any older than eighteen – nineteen Emily decided. However, what really caught Emily off guard was the tiny pokémon cradled in the girl's arms. Looking thoroughly beaten up was a very small Joltik. The small spider was bleeding profusely over the girl's arms and did not appear to be moving.  
"Please!" The girl cried out. "Please! Help me, help him! I was attacked and-" She hiccuped her way through the story as Emily scooped the unconscious pokémon out of the girl's arms. Apparently the girl had been ambushed by a group of men as she made her way towards Cherrygrove City. The men had had the girl pinned to the ground and she wasn't sure how Joltik got out of his pokéball but he had and before the girl knew what was happening the little spider like creature was Screeching at the men and firing webs at them, attempting to get the men off of his trainer. However the Joltik was too small and not strong enough on his own and before the girl knew what was going on the men were attacking Joltik. She relayed to Emily how she watched them kick him, stomp on him and attack him in any way they could. Deciding that she couldn't sit around in terror any more the girl threw herself in front of the nearest man attacking Joltik and grabbed him in her arms and fled for the town. Her limbs had burned, she'd cried and begged Joltik not to die. How she cursed herself for leaving his pokéball behind but ran as fast as her legs could carry her. Emily had rushed the little pokémon through the back and hooked him up to a small incubator which would feed a steady flow of electricity through to Joltik. When Caleb rushed over to assist her and ask her what she was doing Emily explained that although Joltik was an electric type pokémon it could not generate it's own electricity and they had to get it strong enough and stable enough in order to heal it with any other means. _

"I just don't get it..." Caleb sighed.

Emily was pulled out of her thoughts at the sound of his voice. Looking down at the boy who was sitting against the wall opposite Joltik's incubator she watched as he stared at the little creature.

"How... How could someone do this to a pokémon?!" he said.

Moving to stand next to him she placed a hand on his shoulder and gave him a reassuring squeeze.

"Some people don't care for pokémon like you and I do. When situations like this arise, this is what you and I are here for. You've not seen something like this as we're in quite a sleepy little town but this is common in the big cities".

Caleb scowled at the incubator clearly deep in thought and Emily sighed, frowning down at him.

"If you really want to work in this profession Caleb this is something you are going to have to accept. You may not like it but there are bad people in the world. You need to look at the big picture, this little guy is a hero! I'm not sure how he got out of his pokéball, whether the girl let him out subconsciously, one of the men trigger the release button or if he simply knew his trainer, his friend, was in trouble and needed him. I think things could have gone a lot worse for that young lady had he not been there to defend her..."

Caleb scowled further. True, Joltik was a hero but if he died no doubt the girl would blame herself. It was a horrible situation, like being caught between a Golem and an Onyx. Emily watched as Caleb mulled over his thoughts. He'd grown a lot since he first came to work in her Centre two years ago. He was taller, his skin was still as white as Miltank Milk and his smokey grey eyes seemed to look more mature and wise but underneath he was still the same emotional, pokémon addicted boy who badgered her for a job every chance he got. Running her hand absently through her soft pink hair Emily felt sorry for Caleb. He'd given up on his dream of going on an adventure like most kids his age did in order to look after his mother but Emily couldn't help but feel he needed time to be well, a kid! He needed his own pokémon to bond with and even if he didn't get a grand adventure, he deserved the thrill of one or two battles or errands to the city. Caleb had never even left Cherrygrove due to the fact that he didn't have a pokémon, Emily had even offered to lend him one of the Centre's in order to let him visit neighbouring towns to run errands for her but he'd refused. Something about there only being one pokémon he could travel with and if he couldn't travel with that one then he simply wasn't meant to travel. Glancing from Joltik to Caleb's angry face she ushered the boy up and started steering him towards the door.

"Right! Time to go home! Your mum will be worried about you if you're late" she scolded.

Shaking his head and reluctantly letting Emily push him towards the door Caleb chuckled under his breath.

"Alright, alright! I'm going! Jeez you're like my second mum!" he cried out jokingly.

Watching the boy leave Emily couldn't help but feel a pang of sadness for him, she wished there was something she could do but only Caleb could help himself. With one last look at the little Joltik Emily made her own way out and made her plans for tomorrow's rounds.


	3. Chapter 3

**Hey guys!**

So I thought I should clear up some things in my story.

You'll find references to everyday animals in my story as I believe that Pokémon and regular animals can live side by side... to an extent anyways haha.

I apologise for any spelling mistakes I may have made and haven't caught when I've checked over it.

**I hope you enjoy this chapter. **

* * *

Trying not to let the door slam behind him, Caleb entered his home as quickly as he could. It had been a stupidly long day and despite all the excitement of the increase in pokémon trainers he was pleased to be home. Dumping his bag on the kitchen table he bounded up the stairs two at a time, whistling to himself slightly as he went, and knocked gently on his mother's bedroom door.

"Mum? You awake?" he called out softly, poking his head around the door.

His mother had been ill for a long time and no one could tell them what the cause was. They'd tried seeing various different healers but no one could provide anything to relieve his mother of the constant pain that she was in. Every joint in her body ached and she moved at the speed of a woman four times her own age. Whilst all of Caleb's friends had left to follow their own adventures and dreams he had remained behind. He knew his mother felt guilty but he would never leave her all alone and in pain, she'd done so much for him what kind of son would he be if he just left? Noticing her stirring slightly beneath her bed covers but not responding to him he decided she must be asleep and gently closed the door again and retreated to his own bedroom. Caleb didn't think he'd ever been so happy to see his own room before. His room wasn't much but it was his and it matched him perfectly. It was moderate size, with soft blue coloured walls and was carpeted with a soft cream carpet. It wasn't furnished with much; his bed, a writing desk, a long mirror upon one wall and his wardrobe against another. Tearing his clothes off as he made his way to his wardrobe he grabbed an old pair of shorts, some fresh boxers and a clean t-shirt he turned and made a beeline for the bathroom.

_I don't think I've been so happy to go for a shower! Today has been just one thing after another!_

As the warm water splashed over his face and body Caleb thought back over his day. It _really_ had been crazy! Although he had to admit it was nice to be so busy in work and not have to sit around and listen to the nurses gossip all day. Seeing the pokémon battle... now that was amazing! It was almost worth the disappointing start his day had had in the woods. Almost. Maybe he should get his own pokémon? Give up on this weird obsession with Raltz and accept that it was most likely he would never come across one again? The idea of giving up on Raltz was hard but it would be nice to have a pokémon to spend his time with... Seeing how much that Joltik and his trainer cared for each other had really struck a nerve with Caleb. He watched a friendship like that. Deciding that he'd done enough moping around in the shower and was now rubbed red raw by the soap from being lost in his thoughts Caleb climbed out of the shower, dried himself off and dressed in his fresh clothes, content and happy that his day was coming to a close.

_Yup, fresh clothes and a shower were exactly what the doctor ordered!_

Slipping past his mother's room as quietly as he could Caleb made his way back down to the kitchen and ended up raiding the fridge for anything he could throw together for a quick and easy dinner. Only he was greeted with nothing.

_Great, I forgot to go to the store! Urgh, and I thought I was going to have a relaxing night._

Grabbing his coat and pulling his trainers back on Caleb ran out the door and started jogging down the street towards like local Mart, breathing in the cool night air and watching the fireflies flicker in the darkening light. Caleb liked the summer around Cherrygrove City, it was a nice climate. It was warm most of the year, flowers were almost always in bloom and when it did turn cold it didn't last long. He couldn't imagine having to live anywhere else. He often wondered how the pokémon trainers who travelled all over the different regions managed to adjust. It must be difficult he thought, to say goodbye to everything you know and love. It took a few moments for Caleb to notice the tents laid out around the town, some of the trainers must have decided to spend the night and with Cherrygrove City being tiny he figured camping was probably their best option.

_Kinda looks like fun..._

The Mart was absolutely mobbed! Caleb had to fight his was to the food counter, order up some assorted meats and veg, some milk, cheese and the likes and then fight his way to the check out to pay. However today was not finished with the surprised for Caleb. There, standing in front of Caleb in the queue to pay for her own goods, was the trainer who had been battling in the middle of the town earlier. He couldn't help but stare at her. Her long chocolate brown hair was tied up in a high pony tail, her arms were full of trainer supplies which looked a little too heavy for her and Caleb couldn't help but smile as he watched her big amber eyes follow the other shoppers around the Mart. Clearly she liked to people watch. He watched as she reached up to tuck a stray piece of hair behind her ear and noticed that her nails were painted a cute Piplup blue. Caleb's eyes darted from her fingertips to her lips without meaning too and noticed that she was wearing a little bit of lipgloss. He wasn't quite sure why this made his heart beat a little faster but it did.

_Wow, she's a tough trainer and still gets to act a little girlie. I like that. I wish I could talk to her._

Before Caleb could think any further, the girl's amber eyes, which had been watching someone else, were suddenly locked on his own grey ones. Panicking Caleb couldn't think what to do. Should he break the eye contact? Should he keep it? Part of him wanted to drop his food and run for the hills but he was too scared to move. It had been a long time since he'd spoken to anyone close to his own age, never mind a pretty girl close to his own age! Before Caleb could decide which dumb plan he was contemplating would embarrass him the least, the pretty girl simply smiled at him and turned her full attention towards him.

"Hi!" She chirped at him.

Silence. There was nothing but silence that followed. As much as Caleb wanted to respond, was _dying_ to respond, he didn't know how to! Should he say hello? Should he just smile? Should he introduce himself? What was the polite response he should follow?! This was way too much pressure. The girl simply looked at Caleb questioningly, waiting for him to respond. Gulping down the panic which was slowly climbing up his through and begging to be let out through his mouth, Caleb stuttered out a slow reply.

"H-h-hello".

Beaming at him, clearly happy to have gotten a response the girl gave Caleb a quick once over.

"Are you stocking up on supplies before going to see the Professor too? I thought I had enough to make it to New Bark town but I misjudge how long it would take to get here! I thought 'Oh that looks like a short way on the map' and well, here I am! I should learn not to judge distance by the map..." she rambled to him.

_Man this girl can talk..._

Caleb gulped again as he listened to her speak. She was very cute when she spoke. Despite the fact her arms were full of supplies, she bounced up and town on the balls of her feet and moved slightly from side to side.

_I bet she talks with her hands, lots of gestures, she really can't keep still!_

"...So yeah, that's why Manny and I decided to stay here for the night! Oh, you haven't met Manny, sorry! I talk about him like everyone knows him! He's my pokémon, my first one I ever caught. We've been together since I was a kid but I guess most people are afraid of him. I wasn't even afraid of him when I was a kid so I guess that's why we get on so well. He's a-"

"A Haunter" Caleb cut her off with.

The girl looked taken aback.  
"Um, yeah. How did you know that?" Narrowing her eyes at Caleb she added; "Are you psychic?"

Quickly shaking his head Caleb started to panic. Was he rude when he interrupted her?!

"N-No!" He spat out.

"I saw you battling this afternoon when I was on my way to work. I was impressed. It takes a lot of skill to control a Haunter. Especially someone as young as you..."

"Oh..."

Smiling at Caleb the girl carefully readjusted the grip on her supplies as the queue moved up slightly.

"I'm glad you were impressed with him. He'll be happy to hear that! I take it you live here in the town then? Where do you work?"

"I work in the pokémon centre... I-It's tough work but you know, someone has to do it and I really enjoy working with some many pokémon".

"Ooo that must be fun! I bet your own pokémon get jealous!" She chuckled, reaching the till she dumped her supplies upon the conveyor belt.

"Um, not exactly..." Caleb replied, reaching up and rubbing the back of his neck nervously. People were always shocked when he told them he didn't have a pokémon.

"I, well, I don't own a pokémon".

Whipping round at an incredible speed the small girl ended up almost pressed right up against Caleb.

"What?! You _don't_ own a pokémon? Why?!"

Caleb couldn't help but admire her even more whilst she was so close. There were was a small scattering of freckles across her cheeks and he could see flecks of green in her big amber eyes. An added bonus to her being so close was her scent; it was slighly floral and yet soapy at the same time. It was a very delicate fragrance and Caleb couldn't help but wish she would stay closer for a little longer. Reaching up he ruffled his messy hair slightly and sighed, this was always hard.

"Um, I kinda made myself a promise a long time ago. There's a specific pokémon that I wanted to start my adventure with. I couldn't ever bring myself to give up on that dream".

Sighing Caleb kept trying to avoid eye contact with the girl.

"I know it's silly but I just don't want to give up on that. It's about the only dream I have left to hold onto..."

_Smooth move, turn all emo on her dumb dumb!_

Except Caleb didn't get the response he was expecting. Instead of turning all sad and pitiful on him she was grinning like a Cheshire cat . What was wrong with this girl?

"That's amazing! I felt the exact same way about Manny! Well, he found me so it's a little different as he found me but still!"

The two of them chatted for awhile as the queue moved forward and before Caleb knew it they were standing outside the mart and ready to part ways.

"Okay so you don't start work till four in the afternoon tomorrow is that right?" she asked excitedly. Nodding at her Caleb watched as she bounced up and down slightly in excitement.

"Excellent! Manny and I will meet you at the entrance to the town and together we will find out this pokémon! I promise you we will!" the girl exclaimed.

Waving to her as they started to walk in opposite directions Caleb couldn't help but smile to himself. It had been awhile since he'd done anything even closely related to fun! This could be considered fun couldn't it? Maybe he'd make a friend out of this?

_A really pretty friend..._

He shook his violently trying to rid himself of such thoughts.

_Don't even get caught up in that! You don't even know this girl's name!_

Yet just as he thought about the mysterious girl Caleb heard a shout from behind him.

"Hey! Hey! I forgot to say! My name is Terri! I'll see you in the morning!"

Chuckling Caleb waved to her and shouted back.

"Um, yeah! Thanks again! M-My name is Caleb! Thank you...again!"

_Well... tonight was good._


	4. Chapter 4

**Again, apologies if there are any errors I've missed proof reading.**

* * *

After spending the entire morning making sure that he looked good but in a _I'm not trying to impress you but I am at the same time _kind of way, Caleb eventually decided that he was ready to head out to meet Terri. The morning was proving to be a nice one, cool with a slight breeze, it definitely felt like it was going to be a nice day. Giving himself a once over in the mirror, fussing with his hair slightly, Caleb gave himself a nod of approval. He'd mused his black hair up with a little product, settle on a pair of dark blue jeans and a green t-shirt. He wasn't sure why he was so worried about his appearance but worried he was so there was no point in stressing out even further. As he grabbed his backpack and headed down the stairs Caleb could hear him mother pottering around in the kitchen. Making his way into the room he saw his mother standing at the counter chopping him an apple into small segments and placing them in a dish. His mother was very routine, each day she had an apple for breakfast before attempting to do anything else, she'd been that way since his father left. Smiling gently as he watched her, her blonde hair tied back, his slender hands moving slowly as she cut the apple up and her pale skin looking milky in the sun, Caleb sighed as he made his way over to her.

"Morning Mum" he said as he kissed her on the cheek.

Turning to her son, she gave him a small smile.

"Caleb sweetie, good morning. You're up early" she stated.

Caleb nodded as he slipped an arm around his mother's back to steal a piece of apple from her bowl but she swatted at his hand playfully.

"Oi! Those are mine" she laughed.

Grinning, Caleb made another grab and managed to snatch a small piece and popped the slice into his mouth.

"Yup, I'm heading out to route twenty nine again" he said through a mouth full of food.

His mother looked up at him disapprovingly.

"I don't like you going out there all the time. You're all by yourself, you're out there for hours and you don't even have your own pokémon. I'd feel so much better if you stopped going out there Caleb".

"Actually mum I'm not going by myself..."

Caleb thought his mother was about to have a heart attack. Dropping her knife she whirled round to look up at her son.

"What?! Who are you going with? Emily? Someone else from work?"

Trying not to let the blush he could feel creeping up his neck get any further, Caleb coughed slightly and tried to look any where but at his mother.

"I met someone at the Mart last night. She's a pokémon trainer passing through the town. She offered to go with me and help".

Before he knew what was happening his mother had her arms wrapped around his shoulders and was wailing into his chest.

"Oh sweetie, you've made a friend. I'm so pleased. I was worried you were becoming isolated".

Sighing, Caleb patted his mother on her head softly and pulled her into a hug.

"You worry too much mum. I do need to leave now though, I'm going to be late if I don't go now".

"Yes, yes! You go Caleb. You can tell me all about it when you get home".

As Caleb quickly made his departure he couldn't help but feel really happy. It was nice to see his mum so excited about something, even if it was for his sake. It was just nice to see her smiling for once.

* * *

It didn't take long for Caleb to reach the entrance to route twenty nine where he seen that Terri was already standing waiting for him. Her hair was still tied up in a high pony tail but she was decked out in her adventure gear; a set of dark green combat trousers and a pink tank top. There was also a pair of aviator goggles onto of her head which seemed a bit odd but he spent around an hour trying to make his hair look like he'd spent two minutes on it so really, who was he to judge?

_Did this girl really spend the night camping in the middle of town? You'd never have know._

Spotting Caleb jogging towards her, Terri started waving at him and jumping up and down in excitement.

"Hey Caleb! I was starting to think you'd forgotten about me" she said beaming at him.

_How could I ever forget about this girl?!_

"Heh, no I was just held up a bit by my mum is all. Are you ready to go?"

The walk to Caleb's usual spot was definitely more enjoyable with company. It really did make a nice change. The two of them talked about lots and Caleb found that Terri really was as easy going as she seemed. It turned out that she came from Mahogany Town and had travelled a great distance just to get here. Terri came from a massive family and had started her journey in order to get a bit of freedom and find out who she was separate from the image her family had painted.

"It's not that I didn't want to work with my family at our store it's just, I wanted so much more you know? Dad said that I could go off on an adventure if I wanted but he could guarantee that I was making a mistake. To be honest, him saying that just pushed me to go even more! Although, after all my time travelling... I think that might have been his plan. I think he knew that I wouldn't actually go and wanted me to see some more of the country so, here I am".

Caleb was entranced by Terri. The more she chatted and told him about her life, the more he wanted to know. Perhaps it was because he'd been starved of any real friendship for a long time or maybe she was just genuinely interesting but whatever it was, he couldn't help but open up to her a little himself.

"I don't think I'll leave here for a long time. Looking after mum takes up a lot of my time and I actually enjoy my work at the centre. It's fun as well as tough but it's rewarding..."

He felt self conscious talking about himself but Terri just smiled and listened to him. They talked about why he was so obsessed with Raltz, how his mother's condition was getting on and how much he liked her battling skills. By the time the two of them had reached Caleb's hiding spot he felt like he'd known Terri all his life. As they sat under the shaded grove of trees, they continued to chat in hushed tones and before they knew it, several hours had passed and still there was no sign of Raltz. Sighing, Caleb stood up and dusted some stray dirt off his jeans.

"Terri, we've been here for ages. I appreciate your help but it's hopeless. I should give up and move on from my childish ambition".

Feeling even more dejected than he usually did, probably because of Terri's presence not helping the hunt, Caleb made to leave the small grove but was stopped as Terri grabbed onto his hand, looking up at him with a determined look in her eyes, a frown on her face.

"I think I know why you haven't found Raltz". She declared.

Caleb dead paned. After only a few hours Terri knew? What could she have possibly spotted that he had missed after all these years?!

"Really? Why haven't I found one?"

"This is why!" she gestured at him.

Feeling confused Caleb simply stared down at her, studying the serious look on her face.

"You just gestured to all of me... I don't understand".

"You!" she cried.

"You are the problem! Raltz from what you've told me is drawn out by happy people. You are not happy. You are glum, you're negative and you have no faith in yourself. Sure what you're doing is selfless but let's face it, you're simply not happy Caleb".

Any self confidence that Caleb had acquired in life was now efficiently thrown out of the window, down a hill and was currently cartwheeling in a lake.

"So, I'm not happy enough". He asked.

"No, you're not but I _do _know one way to attract Raltz without your gloomy attitude getting in the way" Terri replied, a cunningly and knowing look glinting in those brilliant amber eyes.

_Great, first pretty girl I meet in years and she thinks I'm a loser. Just great..._

As Terri starting rummaging around in her backpack she'd brought with her, Caleb kicked the ground beneath his feet, not quite sure how to deal with Terri's comment. Should he be offended? No, she was just trying to help right?

"Ah ha! Here it is!"

Watching Terri pull out a small tin from within her backpack Caleb moved slightly closer to her to see what was in the tin.

"What's that?" he asked her.

"This" Terri proudly exclaimed. "Is Honey! It gives off a sweet scent that wild pokémon just love. If there is a Raltz anywhere near by, they won't be able to resist the smell. It'll even over power that negative stink you're giving off".

"What?! Negative stink?!".

Terri giggled as she slipped by a gob smacked Caleb and made her way into the tall grass, unscrewing the lid of the tin as she went, pouring some of the contents onto the grass before reapplying the lid and making her way back over to him. Grinning at him, she placed a finger to her lips and motioned for him to stay quiet. As the two of them hid back in the little grove of trees and waited, Caleb couldn't help back take in Terri's soft scent again now that they were sitting so close to one another.

_She's going to think you're creepy if you keep this up..._

It didn't take long for the wild pokémon to start appearing; some ratatta, pidgey, zigazoon and a few others. Pretty much any type of pokémon that was possibly in the area was starting to appear and then make their way back into the forest.

_Well, I guess that's my answer then. There are no Raltz in this area._

However, as this thought passed through his head, a slight rustling in the distance caught both his and Terri's attention. In anticipation for what was about to appear, Caleb felt Terri grab onto his arm, her long fingers entwined around his wrist. Caleb wasn't sure whether his heart was racing from the anticipation of what was in the tall grass or the fact that Terri was holding on it.

_I don't think my heart can handle this pressure!_

A quick intake of breath from Terri brought Caleb out of his thoughts. "Caleb!" Terri whispered in a hushed voice. "Caleb look!"

Following Terri's line of sight, Caleb looked out into the tall grass. There amongst the long blades, tasting the honey that Terri had left upon the grass... was a Raltz. Caleb's heart was in her throat.

"Oh my god..." he breathed.

He could not believe it. After all these years there was finally a Raltz in front of him. However, suddenly a thought struck him.

"Terri" he whispered.

Looking up at him, the brunette raised her eyebrows questioningly.

"Um, what do I do now?"

Her jaw fell.

"What do you mean what do you do now?! You catch it of course!" she exclaimed in a whispered voice.

"Yes but how? I've not got a pokémon and it'll just escape the ball wont it?"

Rolling her eyes Terri reached into one of her pockets on her combat trousers, feeling around for something.

"You never thought this far ahead did you?" she asked.

Shaking his head, and feeling _very_ sheepish, Caleb glanced between her and Raltz. Was he really going to lose his chance after all these years? Feeling Terri let go of her wrist and move her hand into his, Caleb's heart began to race all over again but then, he felt it. A pokéball. She was placing one of her own pokéballs into his hand. Glancing over at her, Terri simply nodded her approval.

"Go on" she said.

Deciding that he had nothing to lose, Caleb moved slowly and as quietly as possible from their hiding position and tried to edge as close to Raltz as he could get without letting it know he was there. It was amazing seeing one after all these years. It's little white arms were reaching up and touching the honey, moving it's hands back to it's mouth in order to taste it. The red horn upon it's head was stunning, glistening in the sun with each movement that it made. It's hair came straight down past it's horn, completely covering it's face and for a moment Caleb stopped to marvel at the small pokémon and wonder how on earth the creature managed to see.

"What are you doing?" he heard Terri hiss from her hiding place.

Looking down at the pokéball in his hand, Caleb took a deep breath before pressing the release button on the contraption. The ball sprung open and the red laser light of the pokémon inside sprung out at such speed Caleb could feel himself starting to panic. Was this a mistake? Before he could change him mind Caleb found the large purple and gaseous form of Manny manifested before him. However, before Caleb could say anything, Manny's large red eyes fixed on Caleb and smiled a horrible, sharp toothed and a snarling grin. Completely ignoring the Raltz in front of him, Manny turned and looked around, clearly trying to see Terri and not spotting her. The ghost turned and twisted before stopped and facing Caleb again. It was clearly not happy.

_Oh no... this is not good._

However, before Manny could make a single move towards Caleb a very angry and supressed call came from within the trees.

"Manny! Don't you even _think _of touching our new friend! As if I'd ever give you away you numb skull! Now turn around, face that small levelled Raltz or so help me I will bury your pokéball at the bottom of my bag and not speak to you for a week! You _know_ I will do it!"

At the sound of Terri's voice the ghost turned in her direction and seemed to visibly calm down.

_Oh, Manny thought that Terri had gotten rid of him and was upset. I didn't even think of that. I guess I have a lot to learn._

Clearing his throat to get the ghost's attention and trying not to flinch when those burning eyes met his own, Caleb ran a hand nervously through his hair and tried to make his voice sound as strong as possible.

"Um, yeah... Hi? Manny right? I'm a friend of Terri so yeah..."

What do you say to a massively scary ghost? Could he just ask it to do what he wanted? Probably not, Manny would most likely not listen but if he played up his importance to Terri? The ghost clearly adored her by the way it kept glancing back at the girl and then back to him to see if he'd moved.  
Pointing to the little Raltz that was still happily eating the honey from the grass Caleb looked back at the ghost and tried to look as friendly as possible.

"Terri knows how long I've been looking for this pokémon. She says my story reminds her of how the two of you and offered to help. She said you were the man, _ghost,_ for the job. Do you think you could help me out?"

If Caleb didn't know any better, he could have sworn that Manny just rolled his eyes at him before glancing at Terri and scowling. Did she make him do things like this often? Based on her personality most likely. Manny turned and disappointed into a gaseous mist and slowly made his way towards the little Raltz. The air was still and cold, birds had stopped chirping and it felt like all forms of life had fled the area. Caleb could hear the sound of his heart beating, it was incredibly loud in the unearthly silence that had suddenly descended around him. Caleb could feel himself growing concerned, his heart was sound loud it was like a drum beating away, ready to give away his position, and yet Raltz didn't move. It had realised something was wrong but the only thing that seemed out of place was the ominous purple fog that was descending around it. The little pokémon seemed to try to back away but was rooted to the spot in fear.

_Manny must have used Mean Look. I feel bad for Raltz. Maybe I should have been more specific in how I wanted Manny to deal with this?_

However before Caleb could even contemplate calling out his thoughts were cut off by a small crying sound from Raltz. It had finally realised what was descending upon it and was clearly terrified. Caleb caught glimpsed of it's wide eyes behind it's hair and his heart was torn as he watched the little pokémon wrap it's arms around it's face as Manny materialised right in front of it before dispersing again and entrapping Raltz in it's gaseous body. Caleb couldn't help himself. Raltz was terrified and he wasn't sure if Manny would listen to him even if he called out. Dashing forward he raced towards Raltz and threw his body around the little creature, trying to protect it from the purple gas. He could feel Raltz struggle weakly beneath his grasp before clearly giving in to the lesser of the two evils it had been faced with.

"Manny! I think that's enough don't you?" Caleb heard Terri all out.

Glancing up from his huddled position, Caleb spotted Terri running over to their dysfunctional group.

"You know you could have just chucked a pokéball right?" she laughed.

_A pokéball... now that would have been far too sensible wouldn't it?_

Caleb chuckled as he managed to pull himself up from the group, Raltz still cradled in his arms. Glancing down he saw that Raltz had passed out, either from Manny's attack or from fear. It was a possibility of both. Reaching down into his pocket he pulled out the only pokéball he carried, the pokéball that his dad had given him for this very moment. Pressing the release button and aiming it at Raltz, Caleb smiled and the pokémon disappeared into the ball.

He'd done it. He'd _finally_ done it!

Caleb couldn't stop smiling. After all these years he felt like he had finally achieved something.

"Thank you... Thank you!"

Turning, he moved towards Terri and embraced her in a hug, lifting her from her feet and swinging her round.

"Thank you! This is all thanks to you!"

As her stopped turning round and gazed up at Terri, the biggest grin on his face he'd had in years, taking in the wonderful image of the girl who had helped him. The girl who only days ago hadn't even been apart of his life. The sun in the sky gave her a haloed effect around her hair, her eyes locked on his and wiggling her feet in the air. Yet as this happy moment felt like it would never end Terri was immediately ripped from Caleb's grasp and she was replaced by a very frightening, very solid Manny, teeth bared and eyes flaming.

"Wow Manny! Calm down, he wasn't hurting me" Terri called out, swatting at Manny as she did so. The ghost immediately receded and floated around her shoulders, still eyeing Caleb suspiciously.

"Sorry" she said. "He gets a little jealous sometimes. He was alone for a long, long time before we met". Terri explained as she gazed fondly at Manny.

"Anyways! You best get that Raltz to the centre, Manny's Night Shade attack can be particularly nasty!".

Before Caleb could say anything else, the girl and her ghost had turned and started walking away. Caleb shook his head, still grinning despite the rude interruption from the ghost. Gazing at the pokéball in his hand fondly, he started to head back towards the town as well, feeling the best he had felt in years.

* * *

**I hope you all have enjoyed this chapter.**


	5. Chapter 5

**I hope you all enjoy this chapter.  
Just a short one today.  
Apologies for any spelling errors.**

Zukuto x

* * *

For the next few weeks Caleb felt as if he'd been given a second chance at life. He was chirpier in work, he was friendlier with people around the town and he owed it all to the girl with the gorgeous amber eyes that had walked directly into his life and given him a good kick in the balls. Not literally of course, Terri had never actually kicked him. She'd wounded his pride a little by telling him he was pretty much a depressed mess of a person and that was why he could not find Raltz but had she not done that he'd still be one depressed sad excuse of an existence. Those around him had noticed the change in him straight away. He was taking part in more conversations in work, even going out for a drink with the others after work now and then. Caleb was taking great pride in showing of his new pokémon who was slowly, but surely, taking to it's new trainer. Caleb tried to keep Raltz out of his pokéball as often as he could in order to let the little pokémon get use to not being in the wild quicker. Caleb's mother had almost had a heart attack when he came home, very late the night he managed to catch Raltz, and very sheepishly held up the pokéball to show her. The tears she shed could have powered water turbines around the country and still have had enough left to power parts of Kanto as well. However she was not the first that she'd shown. After catching Raltz Caleb had made his way to work and couldn't help but show his colleagues what he'd finally managed to capture after all these years of trying. To say that they were impressed was an understatement. Raltz were rare around these parts and for Caleb to have actually caught one, it spoke wonders about his skill. Of course he didn't take all the credit. The dark haired boy couldn't talk Terri up enough to anyone who would listen. Most people around town were starting to assume that Caleb was smitten with the girl and before they would know it he'd be off travelling with the girl and her pokémon. However, Caleb had not seen Terri in weeks and, as sad as he was, assumed that she had moved on to a new adventure. He'd remembered her saying something about New Bark town but even if he wanted to go out to the wilds he couldn't. Despite the fact that Raltz was obviously too low levelled to face some of the beasts living in the wild head on, he couldn't live his sick mum at home. Not that it stopped her badgering on at him to go out and live a little. No, right here in Cherrygrove City was where Caleb was going to stay.

However the best laid plans don't always go the way we want them to now do they?

* * *

With the sun beating down upon the town, the residents of Cherrygrove City gave thanks for another beautiful day in their rural little paradise. It had been months since the influx of pokémon trainers had descended upon their tranquillity and despite the fact there was still more trainers passing through than normal the residents of Cherrygrove City had adjusted to the slight hustle and bustle which appeared every now and then. In the pokémon centre Caleb had gained a lot more experience due to the high demand their centre was now under and it made him realise just how little he'd actually known before. He was quicker at spotting which type of poison a pokémon was suffering from and when Emily took days off it was now Caleb that she left in charge. He was incredible proud at Emily trusting him so much but it got a little scary at times. If it wasn't for Raltz he didn't know what he would do. The little green and white pokémon had grown very attached to him, and he likewise, and Caleb had started letting the psychic pokémon help out. It was actually a God send if Caleb was honest. More simple wounds and afflictions could be healed by Raltz Heal power rather than taking up space and resources that the centre could be putting to better use. Raltz really did make life a heck of a lot easier, sometimes Caleb found the staff looking for the little pokémon rather than him! However, today was not a busy day and Caleb found that he had far too much time to be sitting around doing nothing than he was happy with. He'd already done his rounds, _twice_, and he was starting to get restless and itching to go do another set.

_Come to think of it, I've not seen Raltz in a few hours. I wonder where he's gone off to._

Deciding to go in search of Raltz he left the front desk to the others that were out front and made his way through the centre. Without there being a lot of trainers in today the halls were quite calm and still as he made his way to the staff on area. Making his way through the big double doors Caleb started ticking off and looking in all the places he thought Raltz might be.

_Lunch room...no. New Born Ward...no. Supply room... no, ew but two newbies making out! Well that's me scarred for a little while. Where the hell is he?!_

Deciding to bang on the door to the supply closet, and causing the two new starts to jump, Caleb called out.

"Oi! You two! Have you seen Raltz?"

The two new starts were clearly trying to make themselves look respectable before sheepishly coming out of the closet. Caleb recognised them as the two that Emily had taken on from another centre. He couldn't recall which. As the two prattled on about being sorry or something along those lines Caleb was too busy trying to remember their names. The boy was tall with dusty brown hair, big blue eyes and had one of those faces you just wanted to slap... Caleb wasn't sure why but there it was. The girl on the other hand was small with mousey blonde hair and brown eyes. Caleb could remember having a conversation about the benefits of the spores released by Bulbasaurs being beneficial and being impressed by her knowledge but what was her name?

_Think now, you know this! It wouldn't do not to know the staffs' names! Katie...no. Sarah? No that's not it. Margaret? May? Maggie? Maggie! That's it!_

As Maggie and the unnamed boy continued to mutter their apologies Caleb held up a hand to silence them.

"It's fine, really. I just need to know if you've seen Raltz?"

"I seen him in the intensive care ward around an hour ago" Maggie replied timidly.

Smiling at her, Caleb expressed his thanks and headed towards the intensive care ward. It wasn't too far to go, it was right at the back of the centre as these were the patients that needed the best care and the most quiet in order to recuperate. Pushing the sterile white doors open Caleb peaked his head around the door and scanned the room for Raltz. He could see the incubators holding the pokémon on either sides of the room, the medical trolleys containing their supplies and there, right at the back, was Raltz standing on his tip toes peering into one of the incubators. Sighing heavily as he made his way over to the little white pokémon, Caleb ran his hand through his dark hair in exasperation. Raltz was obsessed with this patient. It was the little Joltik that had been brought into them months ago. As he reach the incubator he placed one of his hands upon Raltz head and ruffled it's soft fur. Caleb could feel Raltz lean into his hand in acknowledge meant and watched as the little pokémon glanced up at him from under it's little helmet style fur, the red horn poking out from under his hand.

"Hey buddy, you okay?"

Raltz nodded slowly before turning his attention back to Joltik's incubator, placing one of his small hands upon the incubator. Caleb frowned.

"Hey, don't try anything now. You know Emily told you that Joltik isn't strong enough for anything. That's why he's been here for so long".

Raltz only growled in response.

Ruffling his fur again before turning to leave, Caleb gestured for Raltz to follow him.

"We should head back now man, we might be needed out on the main floor. You know those newbies are always in awe of you!"

Smiling, Caleb happily thought back to how pleased he was that Raltz wasn't just viewed as his pokémon but as part of the pokémon centre team. It was a great feeling and he was certain Raltz loved being apart of that too. However, without even realizing what was happening behind him, Caleb continued to leave the room as little Raltz continued to gaze at the unconscious pokémon. The Joltik had been here ever since Raltz arrived. Every day he would come visit the electric pokémon in the hope that it would open it's eyes but it never did. Raltz had been told time and time again that he had to leave the little pokémon alone but in all honesty, what would one little Heal really do? Would it really hurt Joltik more? Raltz was pretty certain it wouldn't, who knew his own heal better than him? Glancing back at his trainer quickly to make sure that he wasn't looking Raltz closed his eyes and help his arms up towards the incubator and channelled his energy towards the little spider, imagining a beautiful, soft and clean energy surrounding Joltik's fuzzy yellow fur. Gently caressing all the aches and pains he could feel in the electric pokémon.

"Raltz are you coming?!" Caleb called.

Being jarred so surprisingly from his healing process, Raltz felt himself release more power than he meant to, before he could even stop the psychic wave of Healing leave his mind, he felt it wash over and engulf Joltik.

Oh no.

That was _not_ was he meant to do. Joltik would be okay right? Gazing suspiciously at Joltik and deciding everything was fine Raltz turned and left the ward quickly and ran down the hall after the sounds of Caleb's footsteps.

Yup, Raltz was certain everything was going to be fine... he hoped.


	6. Chapter 6

**As usual, I apologise if I've missed any spelling errors during my proof read.  
Just a short one of chapter 6 today.**

Enjoy!

Zukuto :)

* * *

It had been a long day and an even longer night. Caleb's mum had taken one of her funny turns and he'd spent most of the evening making sure she was comfortable and not in any pain. It had taken all evening but after administering her medication to her she'd dozed off shortly after eleven pm. Days like this Caleb was really glad that Raltz was around. The little pokémon really knew how to keep Caleb from losing his cool to the stress and the pressure around him. Sometimes he felt like the little guy knew him better than himself. Glancing at his watch Caleb took in the time.

"Two am? Fuck. I can't believe how late it is".

Hauling himself out of the sofa he'd not long collapsed onto Caleb dragged himself up to his bedroom and flopped onto his bed, not even bothering to change out of his clothes.

"So tired!" he cried out to no one in particular.

Opening one of his eyes Caleb looked over to Raltz corner of the room. The little pokémon was lying on his back sound asleep upon a giant cushion, his eyes moving slightly behind his eye lids.

Caleb smiled. "I wonder what he's dreaming about?"

As he started to daydream about what Raltz could be dreaming of Caleb found himself drifting off and before long the two of them were snoring softly, not a movement between them.

However a good rest was not on the cards for the two of them. A loud ringing sound jarred Caleb from his dreams of a beautiful, very busty and scantily clad, Terri and caused him to roll straight off his bed in fright.

"Oh my god! What the hell?!" he cried out. Shooting Raltz a dirty look as the little pokémon sleepily made soft noises that sounded suspiciously like he was laughing at Caleb. Rubbing his eyes and digging around in his pocket Caleb managed to pull out the loud and annoying culprit. His mobile phone. Flashing on the screen was Emily's name and photograph. As well as the time: five am. Groaning to himself Caleb flipped his phone open.

"Emily, what's up?"

"Caleb!" She cried down the phone, clearly distressed. "I need you to come down to the centre. It's Joltik, he's come out of his comma and clearly distressed. I need you to bring Raltz and try and calm down the situation!"

Still half asleep Caleb's brain wasn't exactly following Emily.

"What? Why do you need Raltz?"

"Because you idiot! Raltz is a psychic pokémon who over the last few months has grown stronger and stronger and will be able to calm down this situation with a lot less damage than anyone else's pokémon. Now get your god damn ass down there right now before I send my Ferrow to personally collect the both of you!" She boomed down the phone.

Holding the phone away from his ear Caleb replied.

"Alright! Sheesh I'm on my way!"

After grabbing his jacket from the end of his bed he scooped Raltz up from his cushion and headed out towards the centre.

* * *

Wrapping his arms around the material of Caleb's jacket as the trainer broke into a light jog in the direction of the pokémon centre Raltz stared up at his trainer intently. Although he was tired the worry was evident in his face. Raltz didn't like it when Caleb was upset. Being exceptionally strong to emotions there was nothing that Caleb could hide from Raltz, no matter the situation and this seemed to be really bad.

Raltz felt really guilty.

Maybe he should have just left Joltik alone but he was only trying to help! By his horn if wasn't trying to do some good! If only Caleb hadn't startled him...

No. It was not his trainers fault. He was at fault and only he could make this right.

As the pokémon centre started to come into sight Raltz felt even more determined.

He _was_ going to make this right!

* * *

The pokémon centre itself seemed fine in the main area but as Caleb made his way through to the intensive care section, still holding Raltz tightly to his chest, he was shocked as he pushed the big double doors open. The place was a riot. Equipment was badly damaged from electric attacks, there were webs all over the place and small yellow needles, possibly from another of Joltik's attacks that Caleb wasn't familiar with, decorated the walls in such a way Caleb could have believed someone had shot them with a bow! As he took a quick look around the room he saw Emily waving frantically at him through the glass panel of another room. Making his way to the door he slipped through and rushed over to the distressed nurse.

"Thank God you're here! I don't know where Joltik has disappeared to but we need to find him!" Emily said.

Emily herself looked like she'd had a close call with the spider. Her normally perfect hair was ruffled and singed slightly, her eyes were puffy and her cheeks were tinged pink from running around the centre.

"You okay?" Caleb asked.

"Yes, yes I'm fine!" She snapped. "What we need to focus on is getting Joltik safe! He's obviously distressed at waking up in an incubator and with his trainer no where to be seen!"

Caleb nodded. Getting Joltik would be the easy part. Explaining to the spider that it's trainer hadn't come by the centre in several months... now that was going to be more difficult. Casting his eyes down at Raltz he caught the little white and green pokémon looking up at him. His normally covered eyes were showing from beneath his mop of fur, the little red horn looking bolder in the centre lighting.

_This is going to be Raltz first real battle if we can't settle this peacefully..._

Smiling at Raltz Caleb ruffled his fur reassuringly and gave him a tight hug.

"Okay buddy you ready to be the hero?" He asked.

Raltz nodded and squirmed against Caleb's arms, eager to get started.

Nodding at the two of them Emily turned and quickly made her way across to the other side of the room. There was a large door that the two of them knew lead into another part of the unit and propped up against the door was a large table. Emily motioned for two other members of staff to help her move the table.

"Now I don't know where abouts inside he is but it's up to you two to resolve this situation" she said.

Looking at the two of them she smiled.

"I know if anyone can help him it'll be you two. I really don't want this to end badly but if he continues to be a threat to our safety I will send Titus in and he will end this. Understand?"

Caleb felt his heart sink. Titus was one of Emily's own pokémon and he was not good news for whoever was on the wrong end of him. At a height of almost 6ft and weighing an impressive 277.3lbs Titus was one Ursaring you did _**not**_ want to be on the bad side of. Little Joltik would be nothing but a splatter upon the floor if Titus was left to resolve the situation.

Nodding his understanding Caleb and Raltz quickly entered through the doors and they heard the doors quickly re-shut. It was just the two of them now.

Well, and one very pissed off spider.


	7. Chapter 7

If Caleb had thought the previous rooms were bad this one was by far the worse. The room itself looked like a bomb had gone off. There were scorch marks all over the walls from Joltik's electric attacks and Caleb was certain he could even make out the shadow of an intern running scorched upon an opposing wall. Shuddering he turned away. Joltik was still quite low levelled so he must be really stressed out in order to produce this much damage. Raltz however didn't seem to be phased in the slightest. Moving out in front of his trainer the little pokémon started searching the area for any psychic indications of where Joltik was. It didn't take long before Raltz had a rough idea of where the spider was hiding. Before Caleb could react, Raltz was racing off in the direction of the spider, his trainer trailing behind.

"Wow hold up! Where are you going?!" Caleb cried out.

Making their way to the very back of the unit, the two of them stopped before a collection of turned over incubators. The incubators were littered with webs crisscrossing over one another and sitting right in the centre, little sparks of electricity lighting the air around him, was Joltik. He was as aware of them as they were of him, all six eyes trained upon the two strangers in front of him and he was not happy to see them.

"Raltz" Caleb whispered. "I need you to reach out to him. I really don't want this to end with Titus having to be sent in here. Joltik is just confused I'm sure of it. We need to calm him down understand?"

All he got in response was a slight nod.

* * *

From beneath his small helmet of fur Raltz rolled his eyes. Honestly, his trainer had no faith in him what so ever. As soon as Raltz had spotted the spider he'd started reaching out to him and Joltik was confused yes but more importantly, he was scared. The little spider had no idea where he was or where his trainer was either. Of course he was going to lash out! If someone had separated Raltz from Caleb he was pretty certain he'd raise entire buildings looking for him!

Raltz stopped in his tracks. He'd never realised how much he'd come to care for his trainer over the passed couple of months. Well, this would certainly need some looking into but not right now! Right now, he had a job to do.

As Raltz edged closer towards the spider the little creature started chattering like crazy and it's fur stood on edge, like little needles ready to strike. Closing his eyes, Raltz reached out his mind to the little pokémon, poking and prodding until the spider realised what was going on.

"_Are you going to calm down?" Raltz asked. _

"_I have no idea where I am, I woke up to find I was__hooked up to wires and you're asking me to calm down?!" The little Joltik raged._

The spider fired a warning bolt of electricity at Raltz feet, trying to intimate the psychic pokémon into leaving.

_"__If you asked I could tell you where you are you know" Raltz replied._

The spider started making it's way across the various webs, looking between the green and white pokémon with the red horn and the tall human boy standing behind it.

_"__Is that your trainer? Did he do something to Chloe? Is that why she isn't here? Where is she?!" Joltik screamed mentally at Raltz._

* * *

Caleb had no idea what was going on around him. The Joltik seemed to be going crazy and yet Raltz hadn't moved in minutes. Was this some kind of attack that Raltz was performing that Caleb had no idea of? Was he okay? Running a hand through his dark hair in distress Caleb felt useless. Looking down at Raltz again he could just make out his eyes beneath his fur, they were glowing a soft blue and didn't seem to see Caleb at all. Was he in some kind of trance?

"Urgh! This is awful! I need to know what's going on!" He cried out in frustration.

* * *

Back and forth the two pokémon argued.

_"__I haven't touched your damn trainer! You've been here since I got here and you've been unconscious__this whole time!" Raltz exclaimed. _

_"__Oh yeah? When did you get here then?!" _

_"__Around four months ago if the passing seasons are anything to indicate!"_

Joltik stopped his scurrying and stared at Raltz.

_"__What? I don't understand... I've been here for that long? Where is Chloe?" Joltik asked._

_"__I do not know. However I am sure my trainer, or one of the other humans, will know so please, you need to calm down, stop attacking everything, and please see reason. You will not get the answers you seek without my help. Besides, I think I'm the reason that you're even awake right now. You'd been unconscious for so long. I just wanted to help. I think I brought you out of your state too soon and the humans were not prepared. I am sorry" Raltz sympathetically said._

Joltik whimpered out loud, his eyes down cast and his body visibly defeated. Caleb watched as Raltz eyes stopped glowing and the little pokémon swayed on the spot. Dashing forward, Caleb reached out and scooped him up before Raltz fell over.

"Easy buddy! You okay?" He asked.

Raltz only nodded and gazed over at the spider. It's whole body was shaking as it gave out little cries. Caleb furrowed his brow, it was clearly distressed. Slowly, Caleb edged towards Joltik, taking long easy strides, still cradling Raltz in his arms.

"Hey little guy... I'm not going to hurt you okay?"

Caleb got no response to indicate that Joltik understood what he was saying. As he reached a closer proximity to Joltik he knelt down, still holding Raltz in one arm and reaching out towards Joltik.

"I promise I wont hurt you but I have to try and move you okay? Think you're up to moving? You're not going to electrocute me are you? I don't really fancy becoming a lightening rod you know". Caleb chuckled at the last part, trying to put the small yellow spider at ease.

Still, he got no response. Sighing to himself Caleb knew he was going to have to try someone drastic. It would either work or his short life would end here... and he'd be nothing but a charged body smouldering on the floor.

_Well, I better do this before I change my mind!_

Taking a deep breath, Caleb reached out and lifted Joltik up from his web, cradling him in his arm opposite Raltz. The small spider looked up at him, with all six eyes, but didn't do anything.

_Thank God for that! I genuinely thought I would die trying to pick up this little guy! I wonder what Raltz did?_

Deciding not to dwell on the issue, Caleb turned and quickly made his way out of the ward. The sooner they were out the better!


	8. Chapter 8

Having managed to get Joltik out of harms way for the time being Caleb made his way back towards Emily's vacinity with two very tired pokémon in his arms. Despite not really understanding what had gone on, Caleb felt really proud of Raltz. Whilst most pokémon would have gone in attacks at the ready, Raltz seemed to have resolved the matter without having to lift a figure.

_I guess he likes violence even less than I do._

When he arrived back at the main door, and after reassuring everyone that Joltik was harmless, Caleb passed the little spider over to Emily and made his own way down to the front desk. Fishing Raltz pokéball out of his pocket and pressing the release button he stored Raltz inside before placing the container on the pokémon healing station. Whatever was ailing Raltz would soon trouble him no more. It didn't take long and, after releasing Raltz from the ball, the two of them slowly made their way back along the winding corridors towards the area where they'd left everyone.

"You know" Caleb began "I have no idea what you did back there, but I'm awful glad it worked. You were truly amazing Raltz, I just thought you should know".

Raltz didn't give any indication of hearing Caleb but he figured perhaps the little pokémon was just a little battle shocked from everything he'd went through. However, this was not the case. Raltz was plagued with guilt, he didn't deserve any praise in his own eyes. Every possible outcome was racing through his mind and he was still in shock that one of the more peaceful outcomes had actually worked! He'd gotten so lucky but what if there were serious issues with Joltik having been brought out of his comma before he was ready? Raltz was sure he could fix it but _what if_ he couldn't? Would Caleb be able to fix it? He was pretty useless at regular things, like finding his own keys or always losing his left sock in the way, but he was always good in a crisis if his mother was anything to go by. No, Raltz was going to have to keep a close eye on Joltik just in case...

By the time the two of them reached the intensive care unit there were groups of medics and students a like helping in the clean up of the aftermath of Joltik's freak out. Emily herself however was no where to be seen. After asking a couple of students Caleb eventually worked out that she was in one of the separate side offices and set out to look for her. It didn't take long for him to locate her, her pink hair sticking out a mile in the clinical white surroundings, and as he made his way towards her he felt a tug on the leg of his jeans. Looking down Caleb seen Raltz peering out from behind his leg. It seemed his pokémon didn't want to go near the two and Caleb frowned down at him.

"We need to go make sure he'd okay. Come on".

As Caleb reached the table that Emily was sitting at he clearly his throat to let her know he was there. Emily waved absently in response, a slight acknowledgement but nothing more.

"How is he?" Caleb asked. Trying to peer over her shoulder Caleb looked for any signs of major damage to the little spider.

"He's fine. A bit stressed but otherwise fine" Emily replied. "I still don't get why he woke up but he has so we need to deal with it now".  
Caleb nodded in reply.

"True. Do we know where his trainer is?"

At this Emily shook her head, a slight frown upon her face.

"No. She stopped coming by months ago. I've heard rumours that the attack, and Joltik being so badly injured, made her change her mind about being a pokémon trainer, that she couldn't handle it and went back to her home town. Whether that is true or not I can't say and before you ask no I don't know where her home town is".

"That's just great, what we gonna do with the little fella then? He can't live here at the pokémon centre". Caleb stated, scratching his head and trying to think of a solution to the issue.

"That's true he can't. He can however stay with you". Was Emily's reply.

Caleb dead panned. Stay with him? He had Raltz though! There was no why he could take on another... could he? Trainers could have up to six pokémon on them at a time and although he'd never planned to have any more than one, he guessed that it was the best solution. The other trainers around here all already had the limited amount of pokémon one could handle and Caleb was pretty certain that Joltik wouldn't want to be placed in a status of hibernation within the storage unit.

"I'll think about it Emily... that's a lot to ask of me".

Emily nodded, barely listening as she applied healing ointment to the smaller of Joltik's grazes.

"Well don't take too long Caleb. Pokémon may be different from humans in many ways but I've seen just as many pokémon suffer long term damage from emotional pain as I have done physical injuries. Just remember that".

* * *

Raltz listened to the two humans gabber away between them. He never would understand the mundane things these people argued and spoke over but so long as he was left out of it he didn't really care. Except this time it did involve him in a way. The lovely pink haired human was trying to convince his trainer that Joltik staying with them was a good idea and although his human seemed keen on the idea, Raltz could tell there was a layer of unease lying underneath his words. Raltz had realised early on that Caleb wasn't like other trainers. Whilst other trainers kept their pokémon in their containers the majority of the time, Raltz pretty much had free range of his own life. He could sleep on his own area, he could take small snacks from the big dish at home and he was allowed to walk around with Caleb as often as the circumstances permitted. This didn't seem to be something most others had. Silently moving behind the two humans and closer to the inspection table, Raltz stood up on his tip toes and gazed up at the spider sitting upon the table letting Emily inspect him. Gently, Raltz reached out with his mind and prodded at Joltik.

_"__You okay?" Raltz asked._

The little spider glanced at Raltz for a moment before looking back up at Emily.

_"__Yes. Did you hear what they were talking about just there? About my trainer?"_

Raltz hesitated. He had heard. Although he hadn't been with Caleb long, Raltz was pretty certain that if Caleb didn't come back one day he'd be pretty upset about it. There's a problem with hesitating whilst in a psychic link though... the other one can _**hear**_ the hesitation.

_"__So you did then. I don't understand... Why would she leave me? Was it because I couldn't do more to help her?" Joltik asked._

The little spider turned it's gaze towards Joltik once more. If it wasn't for the small pincers in Joltik's mouth, Raltz could swear the spider was frowning. Although he didn't have the facial muscles for that, Raltz knew that!

_"__It's like the pink haired one said" Raltz began "There could be many reasons as to why she hasn't come back. She could have gone home, she was maybe racked with guilt or... something could have happened to her out there. Humans run into trouble a lot" Raltz stated matter of factly. _

The little spider's eyes grew wide and the chittering noises Joltik started to give off were deafening to those around him.

_"__You think something happened to Chloe? What do you know!" he cried out._

_"__I know nothing!" Raltz said. "I was just saying that it's a possibility"._

The two pokémon went back and forth like this till the mental strain was starting to get to the little green and white pokémon.

_"__Urgh! You are __**impossible**__! You don't listen to reason and you're so obsessed with your precious Chloe! If she's so good where is she eh?!" Raltz cried out._

* * *

__Caleb and Emily just stared dumbed founded at the two pokémon.

"Um, Caleb?" Emily said.

"Yeah Emily?"

"Are you seeing what I'm seeing?" she asked.

Caleb nodded, brushing some of his dishevelled hair out of his eyes.

"Yeah, I believe I am. I knew pokémon could communicate on a basic level with other pokémon of different species but... based on their body language I think they're having a full blown out conversation! This is amazing! Do you think it's because Raltz is a psychic type?" Caleb asked, his eyes bright with curiosity as he stared at his pokémon in amusement. Raltz never ceased to amaze him. Did this mean that Raltz _**talked**_ Joltik into calming down? That was incredible!

Emily chuckled. "I think they are!"

The two of them kept watching as the two pokémon moved back and forth, Raltz threw his arms up in the air at one point and after what looked like much deliberations, the two pokémon sat with their backs to one another, looking like neither was happy with the other.

Caleb couldn't help but laugh.

"Are you still sure it's such a good idea for him to come with us now Emily?"

Emily turned in her chair slightly, pulling her hair back into a pony tail and giving Caleb a slight wink, her blue eyes twinkling with secrets.

"Oh I do Caleb. At least until we know what happened to his trainer. Now, take these two home, try and get some sleep and by the looks of it... don't let them kill each other!"

Caleb sighed deeply, this was not going to be easy in the slightest!

* * *

**I hope you enjoy the work I've done so far.**

Obviously Pokémon is not mine, belongs to Nintendo, but I still hope you enjoy the work I'm doing.

Apologies if I've missed any mistakes whilst going over my proof read before submitting.

Zukuto


	9. Chapter 9

The branches whipped at her face as she tore through the trees at full speed, the sound of hundreds of angry beating wings closing in on her. Her breath was ragged, her hair tousled and full of leaves. Why, why, **why** did she walk blindly into a Beedrill breeding ground? Cursing, she felt her sides ache in protest as she continued to push herself forward. Terri could hear the blood pounding in her ears, the sound was deafening, like someone was beating a giant drum right next to her head. Still, she kept running.

_This will teach me not to pay attention to my surroundings!_

Cautiously, Terri glanced behind her and groaned a loud, forcing herself to run even faster at the sight. It was a see of yellow and black, the angry hiss of the pokémon chasing her was getting loud. It was as if for every step she took the crazed pokémon gained two on her. It was maddening, it was unfair and it was entirely her fault. Terri was never the cautious type but she really had to learn to look before she leaped... literally in this case! She was so close to New Bark Town. If she could just make it to the towns edge she was sure that people would help her. The fire coursing through her veins was trying to weight her down, she was struggling to keep her eyes open and it was taking all her will power to put one leg in front of the other.

_If they catch you, you are dead! Dead! No Revival Potion for you!_

If it had only been a couple of Beedrill then she'd have let Manny out of his ball to help defend her but it would be murder if she put him up against so many. So lost in her thoughts Terri was, it took a moment before she registered the site coming over the horizon. Red rooftops, the tell tale sign of New Bark Town.

_Oh thank God!_

Terri was so close! She could do this, she could make it.

_Run, run, run!_

From behind, one of the Beedrill charged forward, moving faster and more agile than the rest. Its' beady eyes were fixed on the terrified girl, its' large lance like stingers were poised in front of itself ready to pierce the dark haired girl in two. Closer and closer it came, the Beedrill would almost feel her blood upon its' stingers, it's wings beating furiously as it attempted to catch the girl.

Terri could feel the enormous bug like creature behind her, could sense how close it was getting. In desperation she started to weave a more complicated pattern through the trees, hoping to throw the giant wasp like creature off her trail. However, it was not working. The buzz was getting closer and closer and Terri could feel the tears forming in the corners of her large amber eyes.

This was not how she wanted to die.

Although it seemed that fate had other plans.

Just as Terri thought it was all over, from straight in front of her erupted the biggest fire ball she had ever seen. It was so close to her Terri could swear she could see the flames dance and swirl around one another, feel the heat as it got closer and closer and without thinking twice, gave into her instincts and threw herself upon the forest floor, momentarily forgetting all about her pursuers. As the giant ball of fire travelled of Terri's now terrified form, she could swear her felt some of the hairs on her head being singed.

However, this was all quickly forgotten as she heard the thunderous impact of bug and fire colliding. As she flung her arms over her head, and curled in on herself subconsciously, Terri prayed silently and waited. For a moment, there was nothing but angry hissing from behind her, a large thump as the bug hit the ground and then nothing. Glancing behind her, peering from between her own arms, Terri saw the large wasp like creature writhing on the ground. Its' yellow and black body was mostly singed black now and Terri could hear the short, agonized cries it made. That must have been one high levelled fire attack to take down a Beedrill in one go. Terri's thoughts came racing to a halt. If something powerful was around to do this to the Beedrill, what was it going to do to her?! Quickly, she scrambled up to her feet, trying to ignore the pain in her entire body from running for so long and so fast. Looking around in every direction Terri tried to guess where the pokémon who had launched the attack was. However she saw nothing.

_I don't understand..._

Before Terri could even start to contemplate what was going on, out of the corner of her eye she caught a glimpse of a figure walking towards her. The figure was clearly much taller than herself, his hair was long and unkempt and his skin was tanned and looked as rough as leather. He clearly lived outside if his appearance and attire was anything to go by. There was a blue headscarf tied around forehead disappearing into his greying hair and his eyes had a steely edge as he looked down upon Terri the closer he got to her. Suddenly very self conscious of her ripped combat trousers and shorts, Terri placed her around herself protectively.

"T-Thank you" she stuttered out.

The man simply continued to stare at her.

Feeling nervous Terri continued.

"If you hadn't come along when you did... I don't think I'd be here".

Still, he stared. Casting her eyes to the ground nervously, Terri scuffed her shoe off the ground, a nervous habit, and cleared her throat.

"Thank you again. I should be going".

"You should not be thanking me". The man said quietly.

His voice was barely a whisper. It reminded Terri of the way the wind plays tricks on you in the dark. You think you can hear someone talking to you, trying to tell you something important but in the end there was nothing really there except the wind.

Terri glanced up at him nervously.

"Yes I should. You saved my life".

The man shook his head causing strands of his hair to get caught and dance slightly with the wind.

"No, you should not be thanking me. You should be thanking her."

Nodding in the direction from which he came Terri peered into the slight darkness, not seeing anything except the shadows of the trees. Looking back at the man he nodded at her to move forward. Hesitantly Terri did so.

As Terri approached the dark gap in the trees she caught a glimpse of what lay hidden amongst the shadows. It was large, it was beautiful, it was frightening and it was staring right at her.

"This is who saved you". The man said, suddenly right behind Terri. She jumped in fright, her heart racing. Glancing between the man and creature between the trees Terri reached for Manny's pokéball... just in case.

Shaking his head the man said. "There will be no need for your pokémon. All I wanted to show you was who you should said your thanks to".

As he spoke, the man walked towards the shadows and laid a large hand upon the beasts head, scratching behind one of its' ears. The creature leaned into his gesture and let out a soft rumbling sound, halfway between a purr and a growl. Pawing the ground, and wrapping one of its' many tails around the man, the creature eyes Terri was hesitation. Its' fur was as white as the first snow of winter and it's eyes were ruby red. She watched as the large fox like creature studied her, as if she was an oddity amongst their surroundings and Terri supposedly she most likely was.

"I've never seen a Ninetails before" She stated.

"Most people haven't" the man replied.

"If you see one in the wild" he continued "they are considered to be a sign of good luck in some cultures. This one here isn't wild, this is my companion, but she was still lucky for you. We weren't even in this area and she lead me straight to you. Somehow, she knew someone was in trouble, that you were in trouble".

Terri gazed at the magnificent pokémon in front of her.

_She knew I was in trouble? _

"You should probably keep one of your pokémon out with you at all times with travelling okay? Pokémon tend to sense more things than humans do".

Terri simply nodded, not really knowing how to answer.

"Are you heading to New Bark Town?"

Again Terri nodded.

"Then you should get a move on. It's dark as it is and the forest are even more dangerous when night completely falls. Now go".

As the man turned his back to Terri and started to walk deeper into the forest, the Ninetails close behind him, Terri called out her thanks once more and headed back towards New Bark Town, passing closely by the now charred remains of her would be pursuer.

_Good riddance..._

Walking towards the edge of the forest edge, Terri thought about what the strange man had said about always having a pokémon out with her. She'd never seen anyone do that on a regular basis but it did make a bit of sense to her. Pressing the release mechanism on Manny's pokéball Terri watched the red laser spring forward and allow Manny to materialise from within. As she watched Manny's gaseous form appear before her Terri could already feel her uneasiness start to disappear.

Eventually Manny's form became solid and his eyes came to rest upon Terri's face. She looked a riot. Terri was covered in dirt, her hair was sticking up all over the place and there were slight tear stains in the grime upon her face. Whoever had hurt his human was in for some serious torture. Manny could feel the rage bubbling within, his large demonic eyes cast around for the culprit but fell upon nothing.

"I'm glad to see you Manny" Terri whispered.

All the strength she had been holding onto suddenly disappeared at the sight of her friend.

"I'm so, s-so glad" she hiccupped as tears started to trail down her face.

Terri felt her knees give way and crashed down onto the forest floor, hugging herself and rocking backwards and forwards as her sobs racked her entire body, her howling cries echoing between the trees.

Manny could do nothing but swirl around his human in concern. What had happened? Why hadn't she allowed him out sooner? She had needed him and he wasn't there!

For what felt like an eternity to Manny, Terri rocked on the ground crying until there were no more tears to cry. Sniffling, she looked up at where her friend was floating. Upon catching her eye, Manny immediately went into goof ball mode. He floated upside down, stuck his tongue out at her and made silly faces. She could not held but giggle. This was why Manny was her best friend. Reaching her arms out, she allowed Manny's will to take hold of her and help steady her balance as she got up from the cold ground. Terri stood patiently as the ghost fussed over her, small whispering sounds escaping him every now and then that sounded like he was scalding her. She felt the ghost smooth back her bedraggled hair as best it could, pulling twigs out of it and swirling protectively around her.

Wiping at her eyes, Terri motioned for Manny to follow and slowly the two of them made their way towards the break in the trees where the last of the sunlight was breaking through. The sooner they reached New Bark Town the sooner Terri could see the Professor and leave this horrible place behind her for good.

* * *

**Just a short chapter tonight.**

I quite like writing the pokémons' thoughts and feelings.

Manny's personality is actually based upon someone in my life who I hold very dear.  
One of those people who you know will defend you until the end of time, even when it's not necessary.

I hope you enjoyed this little snippet. Terri is going to be quite a prominent character and seeing as she'd disappeared I wanted to let you all know what she was up to.

If you liked my story please review or PM, you know whatever you like. Just let's me know you're enjoying reading it.  
I enjoy writing this.

Apologies as always if I've missed any spelling/grammar errors.


	10. Chapter 10

After what felt like an era Terri finally made her way through the entrance to New Bark Town. Feeling slightly overwhelmed, it took all of her self control not to break down crying again. Taking a deep breath to steady her nerves Terri continued forward, holding comfort from the fact Manny was hovering so close to her.

The ghost had barely taken his eyes off his human since her break down in the forest. She'd spoken to him about what had happened and he was still annoyed he could not have been there for her. However, Manny was proud she had made it through without him. Terri had come a long way from the small little girl he'd met all those years ago. Turning his demonic eyes to their surroundings, Manny scanned the different planes for any signs of a threat. That was one of the plus sides to being a Ghost, there were many different planes of existence and he could see all of them so clearly, scrolling through them as if he were simply flipping the pages of a book. All was quiet within this sleepy little town and, thankfully, there appeared to be no immediate threat.

The people of the town gave the two travellers a wide berth as they went about their evening activities. Manny was certain that had Terri been alone someone would have approached her but that's what happened when you travelled with a Ghost. No one wanted anything to do with you. Growling slightly at the people around him he hovered closer to Terri, it wouldn't have been the first time someone tried to run her out of town for travelling with him. People were so simple minded... not his Terri though. She was the epitome of everything a human should be; kind, loving, trustworthy and loyal. Terri would never betray him, he knew that and he would never hurt her in kind.

Before long the two of them reached the building they had been searching for. From the outside it looked just like all the other houses around them; large, white walls, picket fence around the outside and a soft red coloured roof. However, this was no ordinary house. This was home of Professor Elm who Terri had travelled so far to see. Rubbing at the grass strains upon her shirt and attempting to make the tears in her combat trousers less noticeable, Terri pushed the white gate open and made her way up the garden path until she found herself standing in front of a large oak door. The door itself was a warm brown colour with big brass words on it which read:

"Home of the Elms. Where knowledge and curiosity is always welcome."

Terri smiled slightly at the words. How odd...

Lifting her hand she rapped on the door three times and waited. Nothing. She tried again and still nothing.

_That's even more odd._

Before Terri could move to leave the large door was thrown open and one very out of breath, very dishevelled looking Professor Elm stood in front of Terri, clutching at his sides as he wheezed.

"Yes?" He asked.

"Professor Elm? My name is Terri. I came to see you regarding an job application I'd seen". Terri said, wishing she looked a bit more presentable at that moment.

Professor Elm straightened up and looked down at the girl in front of him. He wasn't a bad looking man she thought to herself. He was fairly taller than her, easily coming in at around 6ft3, and his hair was a peppered mix of black and grey. There was a shadowing of stubble on his face and his brown eyes looked kindly down on her.

"Terri?" he replied thoughtfully. "Now where have I heard that name before?"

Clearing her throat nervously, Terri fidgeted with a lose strand of her hair.

"Possibly from my dad. He owns the store in Mahogany Town. He says the two of you went to school together".

"Oh yes! That is where I know the name from! You're Patrick's daughter aren't you?" Professor Elm said.

Smiling at her fondly he added.

"You look just like your mother do you know that? You are the spitting image of her. Anyway, come inside you look like you've been through a lot".

Ushering Terri inside it took Professor Elm a moment to notice the large Ghost floating close to the girl, watching him with its large red eyes, teeth barred in warning.

"Um, I'm guessing this is Manny? I remember Patrick talking about him."

Terri nodded in response, smiling up at the Ghost.

As he lead the two of them towards his lab Terri listened as Elm prattled on about his latest research and the break through he was hoping to make.

"Now I know you mentioned that you were here about a job you'd seen advertised. Would it happen to be the one regarding raising a pokémon under observation?"

"Yeah. I thought it sounded like a worthwhile effort so as soon as I heard about it I started my journey to New Bark Town".

Elm nodded along as she spoke and as they continued to walk he turned slightly to meet Terri's eyes.

"I thought it might be. I'm sorry Terri but that project has already been fulfilled."

Terri had never felt so deflated in her life. She'd come all this way and for what? Nothing.

Noticing the crestfallen look on Terri's face Elm quickly added.

"However, I do have another job I could use your help with. I have a friend who lives just outside of Cherrygrove City. He's recently come across a pokémon egg that he's never seen before. According to my friend, the patterns and colouring are unlike anything he's ever seen before. Do you think you could collect it for me? I'd pay for your trouble of course and I'd give you a room for the night. You'd leave first thing in the morning. How does that sound?"

A new pokémon egg? Now **that** would be interesting! Terri looked up at Manny. The Ghost didn't seem to be paying attention. Manny was casually floating along the hallway examining the photographs on the wall.

"That sounds good Professor and thank you for the offer of the room. Would it be okay if I asked for a favour? I haven't spoken to my dad in a long time and I want to let me know I'm okay, could I use your phone?"

Chuckling, Elm agreed and before showing her to her room he showed her where the phone could be found.

"Once you're done with your call just give me a shout and I'll show you where you and Manny will stay tonight" and with that Elm headed off to what appeared to be the kitchen.

Dropping her backpack onto the ground Terri started to rummage around until she found what she was looking for. She knew she should clean up properly before calling her dad but she was just so eager to speak to him after all this time. Giving her hair a quick brush and pulling it back into a ponytail she spun on the spot and turned to Manny.

"What do you think? Presentable enough?"

The Ghost rolled his eyes at her and floated off towards the window.

Giggling to herself, Terri sat down in front of the telephone and dialled in her home number. The video screen in front of her went from a still blackness to a vivid blue with the image of a smiling face with the words 'dialling' beneath it.

_Please be home, please be home._

It didn't take long before the familiar 'click' sound of the call connected and Terri found herself face to face with her youngest brother Daniel. His mousey blond hair was messed up as usual and his amber eyes, the same as her own, were shocked at the sight of her face.

"Terri! Oh my god! It's good to see you! How are you? Are you okay? You look a mess what happened?"

Daniel prattled on, firing more questions at Terri than what she could actually answer.

"Daniel! Calm down" she interrupted.

"I'm sorry. It's just been so long since any of us heard from you. Joseph said you were probably dead".

Terri rolled her eyes.

"Joseph is a complete drama queen...and an emo to boot so don't believe everything he says okay? Now, is Dad around?"

"Yeah give me a moment, he's just closing up the shop, I'll go get him".

Terri couldn't help but laugh as Daniel ran off from her view to go get their dad. Her brothers could be a handful but she wouldn't trade them for anything. Sure it was difficult being the only girl in the family since mum had passed away and with seven brothers... privacy had been difficult.  
It didn't take long until Terri could hear the distant sound of her dad's heavy footsteps and she could barely contain the happiness she was feeling. Then, at last, the image of her dad was looking back at her. His black hair was short and proper, as always, and his blue eyes sparkled with pride as he gazed at his only daughter.

"Terri!" he boomed.

Her dad was not a small man by any measure of the word. He was big built man, his voice was thunderous and his hands were twice the size of her own.

"Hello Daddy" Terri said. "I've missed you".

"I've missed you too baby girl. Are you okay? You look tired". He asked, his voice full of concern.

"I'm fine, really I am. It's just been a rough day is all.

"Haha! I bet you have lots of those eh my big adventurer?" he bellowed, chuckling at his own comment.

"Have you made any new friends? Not that I don't love your only friend being Manny but it would be nice if you had well, you know, friends that were not see through". He asked.

It took awhile but Terri told her dad all about her adventures. About her travels to New Bark Town, her meeting with Caleb and how she helped him catch his Raltz.

"I'm glad you're doing so well baby girl. Is Elm treating you okay?"

"He is Daddy, he's real nice. He's given me a room for the night and Manny and I are running an errand for him tomorrow."

"Well that's just grand. I'm glad you're okay. Now, enough talking to your old man, go toget some rest and maybe a bath? You look like you landed face down in a puddle!"

"Okay Daddy, I love you" Terri said.

"G'night baby girl, love you too".

After a quick shower and a change of clothes Terri found herself in a comfortable bed for the first time in months. Her amber eyes were fixed upon Manny as he floated around the room, examining the windows and knick knacks lying around. She hadn't returned him to his pokéball yet and to be honest, she didn't want to. Bad things happened when Manny wasn't around so for the moment he would stay by her side. Terri could feel sleep calling her name and before long the only sound that could be heard was the noise of her gentle, steady breathing and nothing stirred except for the Ghost who floated near his human, no plan to leave her side until she awoke.

* * *

**Another chapter about Terri!  
I hope you all don't mind.**

Getting e-mails through stating that people are starting to follow my story, even starting to follow me, makes me so happy! It makes me want to write for you guys more and more.

If you're enjoying my story please let me know. All input, good and bad, is appreciated. I can only get better from here so all comments are welcome.

Next chapter will be back to Caleb in case anyone is missing him too much.


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